Non-restrictive relative clauses give us additional information about a noun that has already been identified, but this information is not essential for the sentence to make sense. What two words cannot be used to introduce non-restrictive clauses?More...

The Kirishitan were Japanese converts to Catholicism in the 16th and 17th centuries. Missionary activity began in Japan soon after Portuguese shipping arrived in 1543. By the end of the century, the Japanese Christian community had grown to about 300,000—the largest non-European Christian community in the world. In 1614, Christianity was banned. Despite the threat of execution, some Kirishitan maintained their religion in secret. What tactic did the government use to expose suspected Christians?More...

Originally News-Week, the magazine debuted 10 years after Time, for which Newsweek founder Thomas J.C. Martyn had been an editor. It evolved into a full spectrum of news material, from breaking news and analysis to reviews and commentary. In 1961, it was purchased by Philip Graham, publisher of The Washington Post. In 2010, it was sold for $1 to American businessman Sidney Harman. Today, Newsweek is the second largest newsweekly in the US. What is the largest?More...

Born in London, Rendell became an author of murder mysteries and psychological thrillers in the 1960s. She has since published dozens of award-winning novels—many featuring her Chief Inspector Wexford—and has been recognized for her sharp prose and psychological insight by both critics and audiences. Originally a journalist, Rendell was fired after writing about a society dinner she did not attend. What notable misfortune, which was absent from Rendell's article, befell the speaker of the event?More...

Quotation of the Day

An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.

The Fornacalia, or Feast of Ovens, was designed to benefit the ovens (fornices) that parched grain and was held to placate the goddess Fornix, who presided over them. It lasted a week, during which each household made an offering of far, flour of the oldest kind of Italian wheat, served in the form of cakes. According to Ovid, those who were uncertain which curia, or tribal divisions of Rome, they belonged to ended up observing this festival on February 17 instead of on the proper day. At this time a general offering of cakes was made by the whole community. More...

mufti - Civilian clothes worn by a person who usually wears a uniform. More...

uniform - Something that is uniform has literally only "one form," from Latin unus, "one," and forma, "form." More...

doughboy - The small round doughnuts served to sailors in the 19th century were called doughboys—and they resembled the round buttons on the sailors' uniforms—so the sailors came to be known as this. More...

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